About

The Taiga Forum

Advances in information technology demand that AULs and Assistant Directors develop new solutions, evolve to meet changing user expectations, and prepare leaders for the future. Whether we are in technical services, public services, collection development, or information technology, we must develop cross-functional vision that makes internal organizational structures more flexible, agile, and effective. We must move beyond the borders and transcend the traditional library organization. Taiga is the land between the tundra and deciduous forests and grasslands. Taiga is about change, a place of shifting boundaries. Come explore with us…

News: Taiga 3 Announced

The Taiga Steering Committee is pleased to announce that the conversations begun at the two previous Taiga Forums will continue with Taiga 3 on Thursday, January 10, 2008 [more].

About the Taiga Forum

Advances in information technology are driving significant changes in today’s academic libraries and creating stress on traditional models of organization and management. These developments have demanded that we re-examine the delivery of service and our perceptions of the continuing value of the library.

In response to these technological advances and to user demand, libraries have begun to offer new services such as institutional repositories, digital collections, Web portals, and delivery of information to the desktop and to portable electronic devices. A purpose of these activities has been to promote and market services more effectively to users and donors and to invigorate the nature of partnerships between faculty and librarians. However, these solutions themselves present challenges that were unheard of even a few years ago. And, in spite of these external pressures and provision of new services, the infrastructure of most libraries has remained constant. Staff training and recruitment, while more important than ever before, oftentimes continue to support a model that is not viable in today’s environment

In order to manage the complexities of our changing environments, we need to develop broad new solutions, evolve to meet changing user expectations, and prepare library leaders for the future. To do so effectively, AULS and assistant directors in technical services, public services, collection development, and information technology must develop cross-functional vision that provides them with the tools and means to make internal organizational structures more flexible, agile, and effective. They must move beyond the borders and transcend the traditional library organization.

For all these reasons, it was time for a conference that brought AULs and Assistant Directors into this re-examination as active participants, as they will shape the next stage of the library organization. It was time for a new conference. It was time for Taiga.

The initial planning meeting was hosted by Innovative Interfaces in July 2005 at the ALA Annual Conference. As a result of that meeting, a Steering Committee was created. The initial steering committee consisted of the following leaders in the library community: